Angela Goraphy is all about trying new things and helping others.
Persuaded by family and friends, the Auburn woman decided on a whim to compete for the Miss India Washington title.
She stepped onto the stage, wowed the judges, and stepped away the winner.
“It was a surprise. I never really thought about winning the pageant,” Goraphy said of capturing the tiara in Bellevue on May 11. “I was literally doing it for the fun of it and gaining the experience.”
The recently-turned 21 Goraphy qualified for the Miss India USA Pageant in New York City on Dec. 13-14.
“New York is another eye-opening experience,” she said. “I’m looking forward to it. I feel real honored to represent my community.”
If Goraphy becomes the first woman from Washington to win the national crown since Priya Ayyar in 1996, she plans to donate a portion of her winnings to charity, namely the Sankara Eye Foundation, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that works toward eliminating curable blindness in India.
“Everyone should have the gift of vision. It is such a great gift to have,” she said.
Her platform is simple but heartfelt: every child deserves a chance to fulfill their dreams.
Goraphy, an Auburn Mountainview High School graduate, is a senior at the University of Washington, where she is studying to become a health care administrator.
Away from the classroom, she excels in the studio as a professional dancer. Trained in traditional Indian dance and self-taught in contemporary dance and acrobatics, Goraphy has been competing since she was 4.
She is a dancer and lead choreographer for Pratidhiwani Dance, a nonprofit organization that puts on a few shows a year.
Goraphy’s brother, Allen, has been instrumental in her career as a photographer and video editor.
An active volunteer in her community, Goraphy also is a member of the Kerala Association of Washington (KAW), a nonprofit, non-political, non-religious cultural organization that works toward the betterment of the social lifestyle of Keralites in the Pacific Northwest. Goraphy was KAW’s youngest committee member of 2011 and the youngest joint secretary in 2013.
Goraphy, an American-born Malayalee, is the daughter of Suresh and Latha Goraphy, of Auburn.
